Maria Menounos Says Motherhood Is 'Heaven' After 'Manifesting' Daughter Athena (Exclusive)

Maria Menounos is manifesting a beautiful journey through motherhood.

Speaking with PEOPLE about her partnership with RXBAR — who she worked with to co-create the new, limited-edition RXBAR ManifX bars with customizable wrappers to help you focus your intentions — Menounos says she's been manifesting her life as a wife, journalist and mom to newborn daughter Athena "since the get-go."

"When I was manifesting my baby, I would feel all the feelings of her being in my life — walking, holding her hand, pushing the stroller, seeing my dad with her. I was constantly focusing on what I wanted," the Heal Squad podcast host, 45, tells PEOPLE.

"Anytime a bad thought would come in, like fear or anything like that, I would swish it away with what I wanted. I was like, nope, what do I want? This is what I want. So, manifesting is a really powerful tool for us to be able to focus on what we want."

"I think manifesting has been with me since the get-go. I know I've manifested everything in my life — sometimes the good and the bad, because what you're thinking constantly, you create," she shares. "That's why these bars are so great for people because you can create your life every single day, every morning, you grab that bar, you write down what you want. And you're kind of etching it in the universe."

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Menounos — who welcomed her baby girl via surrogate with husband Keven Undergaro— is also all about "doing the work," which she's learning to redefine as she steps into mom life.

"I think all moms are going to have those moments [of doubt] and it's one of the things that I'm focusing on, which is why I have on my bar, 'be present for family.' I want to remember — in those moments when the doorbell's ringing incessantly and someone's calling me for this or for that and the emails are popping in — that I don't have to panic because I am stressed from trying to please everybody. I just have to take care of her," she notes.

"It reminds me when I'm feeding her to be present with her and not be emailing at the same time. That's why I love this bar we've created here because it reminds me every day that that's what I want," she continues. "And so I'm getting used to the fact that I might miss the UPS driver at the door. So what? What's going to happen? She needs me. That's what I need to do."

The podcast host calls motherhood "heaven" and is already instilling gratitude in her little one.

"It's been heaven. Heaven, heaven, heaven. She's such a smiley, happy baby," the new mom raves. "We are so blessed to have a healthy baby. I know that can't be taken for granted at all, so every day, we pray and we say thank you to God for her health."

The new mom has been enjoying outside time with her baby girl in the mornings, noting, "It's a really important health thing I do, sitting in the sun every single day."

"I wake up at sunrise and I go outside with her sometimes, when the timing works. I give her her first bottle outside in that morning sun when I can, so that she's getting her Vitamin D," Menounos shares. "We say our prayers together and thank God for bringing us together, every day. We say the 'Our Father,' and then we come inside and get our day going."

"So those are like my moments. Her in the morning is the best. She's so happy and giggly and smiley. And I'm just madly in love," she adds. "It's crazy."

When it came time to welcomed their baby girl, "Me, Kev and my dad were all in the room."

"The plan was that I would grab her instantly, so the doctor was like, are you ready? If you see the video, I'm like 'I'm ready, I'm all ready, I'm ready. And I'm panicking, just so excited. So she basically grabbed her and put her right on my chest instantly," the new mom shares.

"It was the most surreal moment of my life because the hospital staff was so amazing and so peaceful. They're like, 'Are you ready?' And I'm like, 'Wait, a life is about to pop out of this surrogate and she's real and she's in your arms," she recalls. "What you've been focusing on and dreaming of is now real and in your arms.' It was the most amazing feeling ever."

Menounos and her surrogate still keep in touch, with her sharing, "we text all the time."

"They came to visit about a week after Athena was born. They are family for life. They've given us the greatest gift and we love them."

Menounos hopes to bring the "power of manifesting" to people everywhere in her partnership with RXBar for the ManifX bars.

"This collaboration is really authentic for me and I'm really excited to be a part of it. So we've created this protein-packed little ManifX bar, so that we can continue with the 'No B.S.' motto that they have. And we've created this label so that you can write down your goals in your dreams and be reminded of what those are every single day," she explains.

"It really is important for you to write these things down. I had someone on the show who gave us a statistic a couple of months ago and she said 42% of people who write things down will achieve them. So it's really important, every day, to be reminded of what you're going towards."

She continues, "When I'm manifesting, I'm really trying to create the life that I want. And so, I always think of what I want and today, I want to be present with my family. I want to get my workout in and I want to push myself a little harder. I want to meditate. Those little reminders every day, keep us on track. That's why this little customizable package is so helpful for people."

Starting September 7 through September 21, RXBAR fans can enter for a chance to win limited-edition RXBAR ManifX bars at RXBARManifX.com.